CoreIssue
02-03-2006, 10:07 AM
Quote:Romans 4
Abraham Justified by Faith
1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?
Another slap at the Jews.
Paul is saying Abram, who was before there were Jews and Gentiles, but who because of his faith became Abraham, Father of the Jews, understood faith better than them. And he was blessed not for being a Jew but being a man of faith.
Quote:2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God.
Even if Abraham had done works that would have justified him in his own eyes or the eyes of Man he still would have had nothing to brag about before God.
Because God in his justice does not weigh out a persons good works against their failures to see which comes out on top. Failures still must be paid for and separate one from God.
Further, no Man knows what good works are needed to do the work of God unless God tells him what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Nor is any Man equipped to do such works on their own.
Just knowing the Law only tells us how we fail to do what we need to do. It does not enable us to do what we need to do.
Quote:3What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."[1]
Abraham had faith that what God told him would be. That God would keep his promises and not fail. That God in spite of Abraham's failures would lift Abraham up to success.
Quote:4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
God is just. The works he gives us to do for him he pays the worker for. These payments are the rewards promised the saints.
Salvation, born-again, justification, sanctification and such are not rewards. They are gifts. We could never earn them or bring them about on our own.
Quote:5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
This does not say we are not to do works. It says we can perform no work to gain salvation. It says we must come to God in repentance through faith in grace.
But we are to work. Being born-again gives us purpose and a drive to work for God. But such works are issues of rewards and not gifts of salvation.
Quote:6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7“Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Covered by the grace of God when washed in the Blood of Christ.
Quote:8Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."[2]
Our sins were taken willingly by Christ onto himself. They are gone because they no longer belong to us and could never stay with Christ.
Quote:9Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?
Is God's gift of salvation and Christ only for the Jews?
No. The promise of salvation did not begin with the Jews. Nor did it become exclusively for the Jews at any time in history.
And why does he use the term circumcised here and not Jews?
Because circumcision was a covenant sign given to Abraham and to his physical descendants through whom the covenant Land and blessings Promises would be fulfilled.
Many Christians see the OT covenants to Abraham, David, Israel and so on plus the Church Covenant as salvation covenants. But they are not.
They are God's administrative mechanisms for giving revelation and preaching his messages to the world in a way that operate and can be verified in a structured manner without confusion.
Quote:We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Being declared and made right by God is a gift.
Note it says credited, not imputed. That means Christ's blood was not yet there for Abraham but God treated him as if it were to the fullest extent possible.
Quote:10Under what circumstances was it credited?
When did God declare him righteous?
Quote:Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
Righteousness, the covenant and sign of circumcision were given due to his faith. Faith and righteousness came first and the covenant was added because of them.
Paul is really slamming the Jews here. They were full of pride because they believed the old covenants and the sign of circumcision made them more righteous and valuable than the Gentiles.
Paul is telling them that faith must come first. And that faith has nothing to do with covenants possessed.
He is telling them that all power and value from covenants come from the faith that created them. And without that faith they do not possess the covenants.
Quote:11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Faith existed before Abraham. So no one can lay special claim to it.
The coming of Christ via the lineage of Abraham was a promise made to Abraham due to his faith.
So Abraham is Father of all who share his faith in God because together all gain Christ. In becoming brothers of Christ we become sons of Abraham.
But do not confuse issues here. All are spiritual sons of Abraham and spiritual brothers of Christ. But all are not flesh sons of Abraham unless they are genetic descendents of Abraham.
All are not Israel physically nor sharers in the promises of the the sign of circumcision unless they are physical Jews who are also believers as well.
Without physical lineage we cannot share in the sign of circumcision.
With lineage but without faith the sign of circumcision is without value.
Paul is telling the Jews that all who have faith are spiritual descendents of Abraham equally. Christ came for all who had faith.
But Paul is also saying on the physical side the Gentiles do not share in the promises to the Jews. So they do remain unique and special in the world.
Quote:13It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
Note here Paul is saying Law existed before the Mosaic Law was written.
Many wrongly believe any reference to Law means Mosaic Law. But Law began in Eden.
Quote:14For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15because law brings wrath.
If obedience to the Law could save then one could earn their own salvation. Meaning one could wash away their own sins.
Faith would be meaningless because it would then not be needed. One could save themselves without Christ.
But Law reveals sin which creates responsibility. And once responsible any failure at any time condemns one to Hell no matter how much one obeys the Law the rest of the time.
Quote:And where there is no law there is no transgression.
So for there to be no condemnation requiring faith to be declared righteous there would have to be no Law.
But even those who did not have even the Mosaic Law still had the Law of Conscience. So while less revelation of sin there is still revelation of sin that would condemn all.
Unless one dies innocent all are condemned and all need faith. No matter what works one does to earn their salvation.
Quote:16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations."[3] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
We must have faith in the righteousness sent from God, Christ.
The OT saints saw the righteousness as a promise they did not fully understand. They simply had faith the promise would be fulfilled.
God promised Abraham through his lineage the promises would be fulfilled in Christ. To both his physical and spiritual children.
Note the division stated to the children of Law and the Faith.
All who are in Christ, past, present and future saints, are children of faith. There is no difference in the issue of faith.
But the Mosaic Law was part to the whole world and part to Israel alone.
The part to Israel alone concerned the sign of circumcision and the promises to Abraham it represented. That part has not yet been fulfilled and is physical, not spiritual, in nature.
Quote:18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Physically speaking Abraham is the Father of the Arab nations. Spiritually he is the Father of the Christian bodies found within many nations.
Quote:[4] 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."
When every logic of the world said it could not be he had faith in God it would be. And thus he was righteous in God's eyes.
Quote:23The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
While the nature of the world, revelations from God and so on may have changed vastly since the time of the Abraham the issue of faith remains ever the same.
Abraham Justified by Faith
1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?
Another slap at the Jews.
Paul is saying Abram, who was before there were Jews and Gentiles, but who because of his faith became Abraham, Father of the Jews, understood faith better than them. And he was blessed not for being a Jew but being a man of faith.
Quote:2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God.
Even if Abraham had done works that would have justified him in his own eyes or the eyes of Man he still would have had nothing to brag about before God.
Because God in his justice does not weigh out a persons good works against their failures to see which comes out on top. Failures still must be paid for and separate one from God.
Further, no Man knows what good works are needed to do the work of God unless God tells him what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Nor is any Man equipped to do such works on their own.
Just knowing the Law only tells us how we fail to do what we need to do. It does not enable us to do what we need to do.
Quote:3What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."[1]
Abraham had faith that what God told him would be. That God would keep his promises and not fail. That God in spite of Abraham's failures would lift Abraham up to success.
Quote:4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
God is just. The works he gives us to do for him he pays the worker for. These payments are the rewards promised the saints.
Salvation, born-again, justification, sanctification and such are not rewards. They are gifts. We could never earn them or bring them about on our own.
Quote:5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
This does not say we are not to do works. It says we can perform no work to gain salvation. It says we must come to God in repentance through faith in grace.
But we are to work. Being born-again gives us purpose and a drive to work for God. But such works are issues of rewards and not gifts of salvation.
Quote:6David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7“Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Covered by the grace of God when washed in the Blood of Christ.
Quote:8Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."[2]
Our sins were taken willingly by Christ onto himself. They are gone because they no longer belong to us and could never stay with Christ.
Quote:9Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?
Is God's gift of salvation and Christ only for the Jews?
No. The promise of salvation did not begin with the Jews. Nor did it become exclusively for the Jews at any time in history.
And why does he use the term circumcised here and not Jews?
Because circumcision was a covenant sign given to Abraham and to his physical descendants through whom the covenant Land and blessings Promises would be fulfilled.
Many Christians see the OT covenants to Abraham, David, Israel and so on plus the Church Covenant as salvation covenants. But they are not.
They are God's administrative mechanisms for giving revelation and preaching his messages to the world in a way that operate and can be verified in a structured manner without confusion.
Quote:We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Being declared and made right by God is a gift.
Note it says credited, not imputed. That means Christ's blood was not yet there for Abraham but God treated him as if it were to the fullest extent possible.
Quote:10Under what circumstances was it credited?
When did God declare him righteous?
Quote:Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
Righteousness, the covenant and sign of circumcision were given due to his faith. Faith and righteousness came first and the covenant was added because of them.
Paul is really slamming the Jews here. They were full of pride because they believed the old covenants and the sign of circumcision made them more righteous and valuable than the Gentiles.
Paul is telling them that faith must come first. And that faith has nothing to do with covenants possessed.
He is telling them that all power and value from covenants come from the faith that created them. And without that faith they do not possess the covenants.
Quote:11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Faith existed before Abraham. So no one can lay special claim to it.
The coming of Christ via the lineage of Abraham was a promise made to Abraham due to his faith.
So Abraham is Father of all who share his faith in God because together all gain Christ. In becoming brothers of Christ we become sons of Abraham.
But do not confuse issues here. All are spiritual sons of Abraham and spiritual brothers of Christ. But all are not flesh sons of Abraham unless they are genetic descendents of Abraham.
All are not Israel physically nor sharers in the promises of the the sign of circumcision unless they are physical Jews who are also believers as well.
Without physical lineage we cannot share in the sign of circumcision.
With lineage but without faith the sign of circumcision is without value.
Paul is telling the Jews that all who have faith are spiritual descendents of Abraham equally. Christ came for all who had faith.
But Paul is also saying on the physical side the Gentiles do not share in the promises to the Jews. So they do remain unique and special in the world.
Quote:13It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
Note here Paul is saying Law existed before the Mosaic Law was written.
Many wrongly believe any reference to Law means Mosaic Law. But Law began in Eden.
Quote:14For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15because law brings wrath.
If obedience to the Law could save then one could earn their own salvation. Meaning one could wash away their own sins.
Faith would be meaningless because it would then not be needed. One could save themselves without Christ.
But Law reveals sin which creates responsibility. And once responsible any failure at any time condemns one to Hell no matter how much one obeys the Law the rest of the time.
Quote:And where there is no law there is no transgression.
So for there to be no condemnation requiring faith to be declared righteous there would have to be no Law.
But even those who did not have even the Mosaic Law still had the Law of Conscience. So while less revelation of sin there is still revelation of sin that would condemn all.
Unless one dies innocent all are condemned and all need faith. No matter what works one does to earn their salvation.
Quote:16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations."[3] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
We must have faith in the righteousness sent from God, Christ.
The OT saints saw the righteousness as a promise they did not fully understand. They simply had faith the promise would be fulfilled.
God promised Abraham through his lineage the promises would be fulfilled in Christ. To both his physical and spiritual children.
Note the division stated to the children of Law and the Faith.
All who are in Christ, past, present and future saints, are children of faith. There is no difference in the issue of faith.
But the Mosaic Law was part to the whole world and part to Israel alone.
The part to Israel alone concerned the sign of circumcision and the promises to Abraham it represented. That part has not yet been fulfilled and is physical, not spiritual, in nature.
Quote:18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Physically speaking Abraham is the Father of the Arab nations. Spiritually he is the Father of the Christian bodies found within many nations.
Quote:[4] 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."
When every logic of the world said it could not be he had faith in God it would be. And thus he was righteous in God's eyes.
Quote:23The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
While the nature of the world, revelations from God and so on may have changed vastly since the time of the Abraham the issue of faith remains ever the same.